No. Reference Question Answer

1 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002; Att. 14 

- Instructions to Offerors

Page(s): 1; 2

Citation: Due date for proposals.

The SF 1449 states that proposals are due on 10/30/2015 at 3 PM local time, 

however Tab 14 states they are due on 10/1/2015. Which is correct?

Corrected to October 30, 2015 

via Amendment 01.

2 RFP Doc: Att. 13 - Special Contract 

Requirements; Att. 14 - Instructions to Offerors

Page(s): 1; 14

Section: H-900 Pricing and Payment; F. Factor 

5, Volume 7: Price Proposal

Citation: “Throughput Fee: A fixed percentage 

is established to cover expenses that vary with 

the volume of business such as the costs of 

transportation and warehousing. The fee is 

applied to each NSN unit price and is paid on 

each delivery order issued. This fee is 

applicable throughout the entire contract.”

Will the offeror’s proposed throughput fee percentage 1) be multiplied by the 

offeror’s proposed NSN unit price and converted into a fixed unit price per 

NSN item that remains fixed for the duration of the contract or, 2) be a fixed 

percentage that will be multiplied by the NSN unit price on each delivery order 

to derive the throughput fee payable for the individual order?

If the answer is #2 above the throughput price per NSN will increase and 

decrease in step with the EPA adjustments for the POL and chemical items. 

The costs covered by the throughput fee, however, do not bear any relationship 

with the material prices so the EPA adjustments will cause throughput fee to 

vary above and below contract costs. 

If the answer is #1 above can offerors propose an annual escalation, like 

management fee is priced? 

The Government's intent was to 

tie the Throughput Fee to a 

measure that would vary with 

volume on the contract. As the 

pricing indices will vary 

throughout the contract (going 

both up & down) and the 

Government can't predict which 

way indices will travel at any 

given time, the Government 

will not be adjusting its 

Throughput Fee equation. 

3 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002; Att. 13 

- Special Contract Requirements

Page(s): 12; 1

Section: 52.216-9030 Economic Price 

Adjustment - Department Of Labor Price Index 

(Jun 2014) DLAD; H-900 Pricing and Payment

Citation: EPA indexes 

The POL EPA indexes for unfinished goods particularly are extremely volatile, 

substantially more volatile than actual market prices for finished POL goods. 

All EPA indexes except one (the finished product index) have increased by 

more than 10 percent in a single month alone. Over the past five years the 

difference between highest and lowest values of three of the five indexes vary 

by 100% or more. Due to the volatility of the EPA indexes, can the base index 

and adjusting index each be based on the arithmetic average of the three most 

recent monthly EPA indexes published prior to the month in which the base 

and adjusted prices take effect instead of using a single month’s index?

After review and consultation 

with legal and cost & pricing, 

the base and adjusting index 

will be based on the arithmetic 

average of the 6 months 

preceding the month in which 

the base and adjusted price 

takes effect. 

See fill-in text in Amendment 

02.

4 RFP Doc: Att. 13 - Special Contract 

Requirements

Page(s): 1

Section: H-900 Pricing and Payment

Citation: FSC 9150 EPA indexes 

Several EPA indexes – particularly the ones for unfinished or intermediate 

goods – are extremely volatile. For example, WPU06140197 (Aromatics)

decreased by 45% over a 6 month period between July 2014 and January 2015, 

and within that period decreased by 35% in just three months! The index, 

PCU324191324191, Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing is 

the only finished product index in the mix. Considering that this index is 

specifically designed to measure price changes for finished POL products and 

is historically less volatile compared with any of the other indexes for FSC 

9150, can this index be used in place of all of the other indexes for FSC 9150?

The EPA indices have been 

reviewed and approved for use 

for this acquisition. 
No. Reference Question Answer

5 RFP Doc: Att. 14 - Instructions to Offerors

Page(s): 13

Section: F. Factor 5, Volume 7: Price Proposal

Citation: “Proposed prices for these 

commodities (NSNs) will apply to orders 

issued the first six months after contract award 

(or beginning at FOC as applicable) and will be 

adjusted semi-annually using the indices 

specified in the Economic Price Adjustment 

(EPA) provision of the contract.”

Based on the volatility of EPA indexes and given the potential for several 

months to lapse between the date proposal pricing is submitted and contract 

award, can the Government apply an EPA adjustment upon contract award to 

all priced NSNs regardless of whether they or active, inactive, or at Full 

Operational Capability (FOC); and then apply EPA adjustments to all priced 

items once every six months thereafter? Applying EPA adjustments to all 

items at once keeps item prices up to date, ensures that item prices are current 

when items begin FOC or are activated, and simplifies contract administration 

by not having to sub-divide NSNs and apply economic price adjustments to 

some items and not to others. Moreover, if you consider FOC possibly not 

occurring until late in Year 1 of the contract for certain items (per SOW 3.3), 

under the RFP terms the contractor will have to wait until half way through 

Year 2 to receive an EPA adjustment, conceivably two years after the items 

were priced.

EPA adjustments will be 

applied semi-annually 

beginning at contract award. 

6 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002

Page(s): 21-22

Section: 252.211-7006 Radio Frequency

Identification (Sep 2011) DFARS

Citation: “(2) The following are excluded from 

the requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this 

clause:

(i) Shipments of bulk commodities.

(ii) Shipments to locations other than Defense 

Distribution Depots when the contract includes 

the clause at FAR 52.213-1, Fast Payment 

Procedures.”

Since the contract contains FAR clause 52.213-3, are all shipments excluded 

from the passive RFID requirement except for shipments of non-bulk 

commodities to Defense Distribution Depots? Are shipments to Hawaii and 

Alaska considered “outside the contiguous United States”?

Hawaii and Alaska are 

considered Outside the 

contiguous United States 

(OCONUS)

7 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 15

Section: 6.8.2 Transportation

Citation: The Contractor shall be responsible 

for shipment of materials from its facility to the 

customer within CONUS.

Does the term “CONUS” mean the contiguous United States, which refers to 

the 48 adjoining U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south 

of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia? Does the term 

“CONUS” exclude the non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii, and all 

off-shore U.S. territories and possessions?

CONUS means the contiguous 

United states which includes 

the lower 48 adjoining states 

and the District of Columbia. 

Hawaii, Alaska and all offshore U.S. territories and 

possessions are OCONUS.
No. Reference Question Answer

8 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 18

Section: 6.9.6 Material Returns

Citation: “The Contractor shall indemnify the 

Government from any and all liability relating 

to materials returns, spills and non-compliant 

storage arising under Resource Conservation 

and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive 

Environmental Response Compensation and 

Liability Act (CERCLA), and any other related 

or similar federal, state, local, and foreign 

country laws and regulations.”

The language cited from the SOW is overbroad because neither the FAR nor 

any other agency supplement requires such an indemnification obligation and 

the language cited does not exclude liability that arises from the contractor’s 

compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Therefore will the 

Government, delete the language or substitute it with the following?

“The Contractor shall indemnify the Government against liability, including 

any and all costs, expenses, judgments, actions, debt, liability costs and 

attorney’s fees or any other request for monies or any other type of relief 

arising from third party claims to the extent caused by the Contractor’s 

negligence or willful misconduct in performing material returns under this 

Statement of Work.”

The current language has been 

reviewed and approved by legal 

and it will stand.

9 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 15-16

Section: 6.9.1 Fill Rate Measurement

Can the days shown for on-time Fill Rate Metric completion be clarified as 

meaning business days in order to provide consistency with the TDD 

completion times, which are business days? This clarification will enable the

contractor to meet the Fill Rate metric without having to keep its distribution 

facilities open on holidays and weekends, and thereby save the Government 

cost as a result of lower contract prices. Moreover, it will be more difficult to 

ship orders on holidays and weekends as many carriers do not operate on these 

days. 

For purposes of Fill Rate Metric and TTD measurement is there a cut-off time 

for receipt of delivery orders, whereby orders received past a certain time of 

day will be counted as received on the following day or following business 

day? For example, if an order is received at 6 pm on Friday and the cut-of 

time is 4 pm, is the order counted as received on the following Monday?

Days shown for Fill Rate 

Metric are business days. 

Business tracking starts the first 

business day after an order is 

received, regardless of the time 

of day it is received

10 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 15-16

Section: 6.9.1 Fill Rate Measurement

How will the number of days allowed for on-time Fill Rate Metric and TDD 

completion be extended as a result of the time it takes the Government to 

complete actions necessary for the contractor to ship each order (e.g. for VSM 

to provide shipping address information) and the time it takes to resolve any 

delays in shipment or delivery due to causes that are beyond the reasonable 

control of the contractor such as inclement weather, DoD facility access delays 

or closures? For example, if VSM takes 4 business days to provide shipping 

address information for an IPG 1 delivery order, would these 4 business days 

be added to the number of days allowed for IPG 1 on-time Fill Rate Metric 

completion for a total allowed time of 6 business days? Will the number of 

calendar days counted to fill Backorders for the Backorder Disincentive be 

reduced by the number of days for these extensions?

The Contractor will not be held 

accountable for Govt-caused 

delays. 
No. Reference Question Answer

11 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work;

Att. 13 - Special Contract Requirements

Page(s): 16; 2-3

Section: 6.9.1.1 Fill Rate Exceptions; H-902 

Backorder

Can FMS orders be added as Fill Rate exception? The reason is FMS orders 

occur outside the normal pattern of demand and cannot reasonably be 

predicted in terms of either items, quantity, or timing. Moreover, they are 

relatively high in quantity and dollar value compared with DoD orders. Given 

the severity of the Backorder disincentive and likelihood the contractor will 

not have enough stock to fill both the high quantity FMS orders and DoD 

customer orders, the contractor will have to put DoD customer orders on hold

in order to fill the large FMS orders and minimize Backorder disincentive, 

causing significant disruption to the warfighter in the process. 

FMS orders will be excluded 

from the Fill Rate calculation & 

will be added to the list of 

exclusions currently listed as an 

attachment to the SOW. See 

Amendment 02.

12 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work;

Att. 13 - Special Contract Requirements

Page(s): 16; 2-3

Section: 6.9.1.1 Fill Rate Exceptions; H-902 

Backorder

Can orders that exceed a certain quantity be added as Fill Rate exception (e.g. 

for one order or a series of orders for the same NSN within 10 days that exceed 

1/4th of the demand quantity for that NSN for the prior 12 months)? Orders that 

exceed threshold occur outside the normal pattern of demand and cannot 

reasonably be predicted. In such a scenario, the contractor will not have 

sufficient stock on hand to fill the order(s) and may need a full production lead 

time (PLT) to replenish inventory. For example, a PLT of 120 days for a large 

quantity, the corresponding backorder penalty would then be 25% of the 

material value of each extremely large order(s).

The Government will exclude 

"significant spikes" from the

Fill Rate calculation. A 

significant spike is defined as

any demand spike

that is three (3) times or greater 

than the previous three (3) 

months demand average. See 

Amendment 02.

13 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work;

Att. 13 - Special Contract Requirements

Page(s): 16; 2-3

Section: 6.9.1.1 Fill Rate Exceptions; H-902 

Backorder

Based on requisition history, the level of demand is extremely variable, 

particularly for individual NSNs. For example, during the past year $24M of 

demand was experienced in a single week (approximately one quarter of 

annual demand), the majority of which was FMS, and 90% of which was IPG 

1. This one week’s demand equated to ~400 truckloads of material and 

constituted a multi-year quantity world-wide demand for many NSNs, some 

with quantities in excess of 10 years of world-wide demand. Limited capacity 

for manufacturers to increase production levels led to delivery delays for 

replenishment orders that lasted for several months. DDC facilities also 

became overwhelmed with the influx of material shipments from the 

contractor and imposed delivery restrictions that prevented the contractor from 

shipping additional material when it was ready to ship causing this material to 

accumulate at the contractor’s facilities for several weeks. Therefore, will 

orders that deviate from the normal flow of demand to such a large extent be 

excluded from the Fill Rate metric and Backorder disincentive? The time to 

fill inordinately large orders that approach or exceed on-hand inventory levels 

typically exceed 90 days.

See Question 12 above.
No. Reference Question Answer

14 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002

Page(s): 27, 47

Section: Clauses Added to Part 12 by

Addendum ; Provisions Added to Part 12 by

Addendum

Citation: DLAD 52.217-9007, 52.217-9009, 

and 52.217-9010

DLAD 52.217-9007(a), and these Surge and Sustainment (S&S) clauses in 

general, require the submittal of a capability assessment plan (CAP) and 

completion of an electronic CAP (eCAP) using the worldwide web industrial 

capabilities program (WICAP). 

Q1: How should the print copy of the CAP summary be submitted, as part of 

Volume 1, Completed RFP, or Volume 7, Price Proposal? 

Q2: When will the solicitation be loaded into WICAP so that the eCAP can be 

prepared?

Q3: Will the CAP need to cover all 558 items (by NIIN) listed on the NonCovered Surge Items tab of the Surge Requirements spreadsheet?

Q1. Include the print copy of 

the CAP summary as part of 

Volume I, completed RFP.

Q2. The solicitation has been 

loaded into WICAP.

Q3. The CAP must cover all 

558 NIINs in WICAP.

15 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002

Page(s): 28

Section: Clauses Added to Part 12 by

Addendum

Citation: FAR 52.223-03, DFARS 252.223-

7001

In consideration of the requirement to submit safety data sheets and hazard 

warning labels as Volume 3 of the proposal, are the tables for these clauses 

required to be completed and submitted with Volume 1?

See Amendment 02

16 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002

Page(s): 31-32

Section: Clauses Added to Part 12 by

Addendum

Citation: FAR 52.247-60, DLAD 52.247-

9011

What is the purpose of the data requested by FAR 52.247-60(a)(1) if the 

contractor is to pay for all CONUS shipping and the Government is to specify, 

via VSM, the packaging and mode of transportation for all orders destined 

OCONUS?

This is not applicable at this 

time as VSM will be utilized.

17 RFP Doc: Att. 14 - Instructions to Offerors

Page(s): 6

Section: 2.B, Volume 3

Citation: “The appropriate SDS & HWL 

corresponding to the products information shall 

be provided in a separate volume for items 

identified in Attachments 2 and 3, labeled 

‘Volume 3 –SDS & HWL’.”

(a) Attachment 2 lists 3,326 active NSNs and Attachment 3 lists 2,325 inactive 

NSNs for a total of 5,651 NSNs. If the average SDS and HWL occupy 10 

pages, then Volume 3 will comprise 56,510 pages – nearly nine full cases of 

double sided paper. 

(b) In lieu of submitting SDS and HWL information printed on paper, can this 

information be submitted in electronic form via CD-R or DVD-R?

Same as 15

18 RFP Doc: 5yr Req Hist.xlsx The DLA website reports that this file is 113 MB. After several attempts from 

different locations and computers, less than half of the file can be downloaded 

before the website aborts the transfer.

Will the Government repost the file in a manner that can be accessed?

Reducing file size. Posted on 

www.fbo.gov
No. Reference Question Answer

19 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 9

Section: 5.2

Citation: The Contractor shall develop and 

submit its Property Management Plan as part of 

its proposal. 

(a). In which volume of the proposal are offerors to submit their Property 

Management Plan?

(b). Is the Property Management Plan to be prepared in accordance with FAR 

52.245-1? 

(c). Does the Property Management Plan count against page limits specified in 

Attachment 14 – Instructions to Offerors?

(d). How will the Property Management Plan be evaluated? 

a. Volume 2, Technical 

Proposal

b. Yes.

c. Yes.

d. Property Management Plans 

will be evaluated under SubFactor 2, Product Management. 

20 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 11

Section: 6.2.1

Citation: Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

For Volume 3 must offerors also include SDS that comply with the SDS and 

labeling requirements of European Regulation No 1272/2008?

Answer: At this time, European 

SDS will not be required.

21 RFP Doc: Att. 14 - Instructions to Offerors

Page(s): 1

Section: A. Preparation and Submittal

Citation: “Print should be no smaller than a 

font size of 12 and should be on 8 1/2 x 11 inch 

paper.”

May offerors use a font size smaller than 12 point for basic text, or for tables, 

charts and graphs, provided it is reasonably legible as printed? In order to

provide sufficient detail and clarity in diagrams of processes and other 

illustrations, or for tabular data, we recommend that offerors be permitted to 

use a font size as small as 8 point for graphics (including figures, tables, 

illustrations, etc.).

8 point font for graphics, 

diagrams, tables, illustrations is 

acceptable.

22 RFP Doc: Att. 15 – Evaluation Procedures

Page(s): 3

Section: B. Technical Evaluation: Subfactor 1: 

Quality Control

Citation: “Specific compliances to required 

ISO 9001 or equivalent will be verified by 

providing certification or appropriate 

documents demonstrating compliance with 

required standards for the offeror and all 

affected subcontractors.”

In lieu of ISO 9001 certification, please clarify what documents the 

Government will deem acceptable to demonstrate compliance with required 

standards and what are the required standards? 

The Government prefers 

offerors have ISO 9001 

certification but will also accept 

equivalent quality systems. If 

an offeror does not have the 

ISO 9001 certification, the 

offeror will need to describe in 

detail how its quality system 

meets the intent of the ISO 

9001 certification.

23 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002

Page(s): 32

Section: Clauses Added to Part 12 by

Addendum

Citation: DLAD 52.247-9011; “(b) Use of 

VSM is voluntary and is especially beneficial 

for DLA administered free on board (f.o.b.) 

origin contracts and for DLA administered 

contracts where ultimate destination is a 

location outside of the United States.”

Per the SOW paragraph 6.8.2 Transportation requirement to obtain a VSM 

profile, please confirm that use of VSM is not voluntary but mandatory for 

f.o.b. origin orders and for every order where ultimate delivery destination is a 

location outside of the United States.

VSM is mandatory for 

FOB origin orders and for every 

order where ultimate delivery 

destination is a location outside 

of the United States.
No. Reference Question Answer

24 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002

Page(s): 32

Section: Clauses Added to Part 12 by

Addendum

Citation: DLAD 52.247-9012; “DOD 

shipments inside and outside of the United 

States must meet ISPM 15 whenever WPM is 

used to ship DOD cargo.”

Please confirm that ISPM 15 requirements only apply to wood packaging 

materials (WPM) used for shipments for ultimate delivery by DoD (i.e. 

OCONUS orders) and do not apply to WPM used for shipments conducted by 

commercial carriers, e.g. for CONUS orders shipped by the contractor’s 

carriers, for FMS shipments.

The Clause is correct as stated.

25 RFP Doc: Att. 15 – Evaluation Procedures

Page(s): 1

Section: Evaluation Basis for Award; 1. Basis 

for Contract Award

Citation: “Award will be made to the 

responsible offeror whose proposal conforms to 

all solicitation requirements, such as terms and 

conditions, representations and certifications, 

technical requirements, and also provides the 

best value to the Government based on the 

results of the evaluation described in paragraph 

2 below.”

Does the Government intend to incorporate the offeror’s technical proposal –

or any portion of it - into the resulting contract award?

Yes. Offeror’s proposal will be 

incorporated into contract 

award.

26 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work The Statement of Work refers to the contractor’s responsibilities as ‘supplying’ 

in lieu of ‘item management’. The Statement of Work for the incumbent 

contract however, specifically cites item management as being within the 

scope of the contractor’s responsibilities. Is there a legal/contractual 

significance with respect to omission of “item management” from this 

solicitation’s Statement of Work?

This is a supply contract. We 

feel the supply chain 

management functions in 

section 1.1.2 are components of 

item management.

27 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work 

Page(s): 8

Section: 4.0 System Interface & Integration, 

Paragraph 4.6

Citation: “The contract may specify the 

following VMI EDI requirements where VMI 

is applicable:”

Must the offeror price all of the EDI transactions shown in paragraph 4.6 

(including all related costs for system interface development and testing) or 

only a sub-set these EDI transactions, which the Government is certain will be 

used? If only a sub-set what are the transactions specifically? Will the 

contractor be eligible for an equitable price adjustment if additional EDI 

transactions (other than the known sub-set) will be used during contract 

performance? 

All EDI transactions shown are 

required. It is at the discretion 

of the offeror how to price
No. Reference Question Answer

28 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 8

Section: 5.0 Vendor Managed Inventory 

(VMI), Paragraph 5.2

Citation: “The Contractor shall develop and 

submit its Property Management Plan as part of 

its proposal. Once the plan is approved by 

DLA, the plan will be incorporated into the 

contract and the Contractor shall manage the 

property in accordance with its approved plan.”

Since the RFP includes FAR clause 52.245-01 Government Property, is it 

DLA’s intent that the contractor manage VMI according to the procedures of 

52.245-01, and therefore must the Property Management Plan submitted with 

the offeror’s proposal conform to the procedures of FAR clause 52.245-01 or 

can alternate procedures be used? 

FAR clause 52.245-1 must be 

followed. 

29 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 10

Section: 5.0 Vendor Managed Inventory 

(VMI), Paragraph 5.4

Citation: “The Contractor must use VMI to 

satisfy orders until the VMI is depleted; once 

VMI is depleted, the Contractor shall fill orders 

from Contractor-owned inventory.”

Can the Government describe the process by which the ‘last’ VMI order will 

be processed for a given NSN? By that we mean, the ‘last’ order (unless 

additional VMI is received at a later date) will most likely exceed the 

remaining quantity in stock. Will the contractor fill the order partially, will the 

order be cancelled and reissued for the remaining stock of VMI, or will 

another method be used? 

Contractor will fill as much of 

the order as possible via VMI 

and will fill the balance of the 

order utilizing contractor 

furnished material. 

30 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 10

Section: 5.0 Vendor Managed Inventory 

(VMI), Paragraph 5.5

Citation: “The Contractor and the 

Government will jointly inspect, count, and 

reconcile the incoming inventory. A record of 

this transfer will be maintained by the 

Contractor and provided to the cognizant 

administration office and Contracting Officer.”

Will Government inspection be performed with the Government inspector 

physically present at the contractor’s facility or remotely? Will this inspection 

be performed by DLA-Aviation or DCMA personnel per their property 

administrator role under FAR clause 52.245-01 Government Property?

All Govt inspections will be 

performed by a Quality 

Assurance Representative 

(QAR).

31 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 10

Section: 5.0 Vendor Managed Inventory 

(VMI), Paragraph 5.5

Citation: “In each phase, when a quantity of 

Government inventory is identified, the 

inventory will be blocked from issue at the 

depot and physically transferred to the 

Contractor’s facility at Government expense.”

As this is not a requirements contract, depots can fill DoD customer 

requisitions independent of this contract. The RFP reference to the 

Government blocking inventory from issue at the depot so the inventory can be 

transferred to the contractor implies that orders from DoD customers are being 

routed to the depots to be filled using available Government stock, and not 

being routed to the contractor in the first place. Is this scenario limited to 

FSL’s, or does the Government envision CONUS orders being routed to the

CONUS DDC’s? If so, what is the criteria for when an order will route to the 

contractor versus be filled by the Government?

This scenario is limited to 

Forward Stock Locations (FSL) 

which are stocked through 

purchases against the 

Chem/POL contract. There is 

no stock at DLA CONUS 

distribution centers. 
No. Reference Question Answer

32 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 11

Section: 6.2.1 Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

Citation: “SDSs are required for all materials 

delivered under this contract that meet the 

definition of hazardous as set forth in the latest 

version of Federal Standard 313 (including 

versions or changes adopted during the life of 

the contract).”

Neither the contractor nor DLA can control or predict what changes may occur 

to Federal Standard 313 during the term of the contract and these changes may 

impact the cost or schedule of contract performance. Therefore, is it correct to 

assume that the contractor will be eligible for equitable adjustments to the 

contract price or schedule to the extent that these changes impact the cost or 

time required to perform the contract? 

Any transactions outside the 

scope of the contract would be 

considered for an equitable 

adjustment.

33 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 14-15

Section: 6.8.1 OCONUS Sea Containers

Citation: “Upon notification from DLA 

Distribution that an OCONUS order requires a 

sea container (SEAVAN), the Government will 

modify the delivery order to reflect FOB Origin 

and inspection/acceptance at origin terms.”

Please define the criteria that DLA will use to determine that an order will ship 

by sea container (SEAVAN). Knowing these criteria is essential to planning 

and estimating costs of contract performance. 

Answer from DDC::

The current criterion is that any 

sea van that is over 30,000 lbs.

or 1500 cube will be sourced

directly at the vendor site. All 

other orders will flow to the 

consolidation and 

containerization points for 

containerization.

34 RFP Doc: Att. 12 - Statement of Work

Page(s): 10

Section: 10.0 Post Award Conference

Citation: “The Contracting officer, in 

conjunction with the cognizant ACO, may 

require a post-award conference in accordance 

with FAR 42.503.”

What contract administration functions, specifically, will be delegated to an 

ACO and will the ACO official be from DCMA? 

The ACO will be the 

Contracting Officer (currently 

Tonya Green) resides in the 

Integrated Supplier Team (IST) 

at Defense Supply Center 

Richmond, VA. DCMA will 

not administer this contract.

DCMA will only be involved 

for items with Origin & 

Inspection.

35 RFP Doc: Att. 14 – Instructions to Offerors; 

Att. 2 – Active NIINs; Schedule of Supplies

Page(s): 20

Section: F. Factor 5, Volume 7: Price Proposal: 

; ChemPol Offeror Spreadsheet

Citation: “Propose a single percentage to 

cover costs that vary with the volume of 

business to include transportation and 

warehousing costs.”

On the ChemPol Offeror Spreadsheet can offerors propose a different 

throughput fee percentage for each NSN or must the same percentage be used 

to price all NSNs?

No. One fee is required to be 

utilized across all NSNs.
No. Reference Question Answer

36 RFP Doc: SF1449_SPE4A215R0002

Page(s): 27

Section: : Clauses Added to Part 12 by

Addendum

Citation: 52.217-09 Option to Extend the 

Term of the Contract

The clause stipulates option exercise within 30 days of contract expiration and 

an advance notification of intent to exercise the option at least 60 days before 

the contract expires. Due to many items having significantly longer lead times 

than these time frames, the contractor will run the risk of significant excess or 

shortfalls of inventory because inventory replenishment purchase decisions 

will have to be made before the contractor receives the option modification. 

Also there are significant fixed contract costs that require extended advance 

notice to cancel. Therefore, recommend the Government specify option 

exercise no sooner than 180 days prior to contract expiration.

The Govt will provide 270 days 

advance notice that it intends to 

exercise an Option. See 

Amendment 02.

37 RFP Doc: Att. 14 – Instructions to Offerors; 

Att. 8 – FACTS Sheet 

Citation: RFP Attachment 14, Instructions 

section 2. D (6) states: The answering space on 

the FACTS Sheet may be expanded so that the 

filled-in FACTS Sheet for each relevant 

contract covers no more than both sides of 

three (3) 8 1⁄2 x 11 inch pages. 

RFP Attachment 8, FACTS Sheet section F.1 

states: 

F. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EFFORT AS: 

_____ PRIME _____ SUBCONTRACTOR 

1. As a part of this narrative description, 

highlight portions considered most relevant to 

the current acquisition; addressing how and to 

what extent the proposed effort relates to the 

program identified in B. above. To supplement 

the data provided in response to this paragraph, 

complete the following regarding relevancy of 

the effort identified in paragraph B to the 

proposed effort. This is limited to two pages 

beyond the page limitation of the FACTS sheet 

information.

Please confirm that the two pages identified in the last sentence of Attachment 

8, section F.1, “This is limited to two pages beyond the page limitation of the 

FACTS sheet information” are in addition to the 6-page limitation provided in 

Attachment 14, Instructions section 2.D (6).

Confirmed as stated.
No. Reference Question Answer

38 RFP Doc: Att. 8 – FACTS Sheet 

Citation: RFP Attachment 8, FACTS Sheet 

Section L states:

L. Additionally, for those efforts where the 

offeror is cognizant of unfavorable and/or 

marginal past performance ratings/reports 

previously assessed by customers or clients, but 

feel that significant progress has been made but 

not yet credited or formally documented, 

provide the program name, contract number, 

customer location and a narrative explaining 

“fixes” made to date, or any other information 

regarding the unfavorable/marginal assessment. 

This narrative portion is limited to one (1) 

additional page beyond the FACTS sheet 

required page limitation. It is not presumed that 

the offeror’s performance has been perfect. 

Rather, the proposal should contain evidence of 

the offeror’s ability to isolate the root causes of 

problems and should describe programs or 

actions taken to resolve those causes. 

Demonstrated corrective actions (not just 

planned or promised), and the overall work 

record will be considered. Problems not 

addressed by the offeror, but found by the 

Government during the evaluation of the 

information in this volume, will be assumed to 

still exist.

Please confirm that the 1-page additional narrative beyond the FACTS sheetrequired page limitation can be used to address all of the factors cited in L,

including discussion of past performance issues and evidence of the offeror’s 

ability to isolate the root causes of problems and descriptions of programs or 

actions taken to resolve those causes.

Confirmed as stated.

39 Attachment 2: Active NIIN’s / Schedule of 

Supplies: ADQ in column F on the first tab

indicates the same values as the ADF in 

column H on the second tab. 

Will the ADQ in

column I on the second tab be used to calculate TEP?

The Spreadsheet has been 

corrected. See Amendment 01.
No. Reference Question Answer

40 Clause 252.211-7006 RADIO FREQUENCY 

IDENTIFICATION: Clause states that

“Contractor shall affix passive RFID tags, at 

the case- and palletized unit load packaging

levels, for shipments of items that are being 

shipped to one of the locations listed at

http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/rfid/ ... or to an 

OCONUS location when the shipment has

been assigned Transportation Priority 1.”

Can DLA provide an estimated number or

volume of shipments that will deliver to these locations and will therefore 

require RFID?

The Govt is unable to provide 

an estimate of orders requiring 

RFID as the number varies year 

over year. Offerors can view 

the 5-Year Requisition History 

for an RFID estimate.

41 Attachment 12: Statement of Work

Section #6.8 Distribution

Can DLA specify the packaging & marking requirements for

delivery orders? Must each NSN be labeled in accordance with applicable 

MIL-STD-129,

MIL-STD-290, MIL-STD-2073, and NATO requirements? Does palletization 

in accordance

with MIL-STD-147 apply to all shipments?

Packaging and Marking 

requirements are included in the 

item description for each NIIN

which will determine the 

packaging and marking 

requirements for each delivery 

order.

42 Attachment 13: Special Contract Requirements

Section #H-900 Pricing & Payment, Material

Attachment 13, Section H-900 states that

“Material priced at time of award of the 

contract represents the fixed commodity price

for a six-month period.” Attachment 14, 

Instructions to Offerors, Section F (page 13) 

has

different language: “Proposed prices for these 

commodities (NSNs) will apply to orders

issued the first six months after contract award 

(or beginning at FOC as applicable)”.

Considering that proposals will be submitted in October 2015, contract start 

date will

begin in July 2016, and FOC will take place until July of 2017; it is our 

understanding that

material prices will remain fixed for 22 months after the bid is submitted. Can 

DLA

clarify the timing (month & year) for the first material pricing adjustment and 

the dates

that the base index data will be applied?

EPA adjustments will be 

applied semi-annually 

beginning at contract award.

43 Section #H-900 Pricing & Payment, Material: Nine (9) of the ten (10) indexes listed are

provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and historic data are 

publicly

available to all bidders. The ICIS Pricing Index requires separate purchase to 

access

historic data. Can DLA provide the past 10 years of data for the Group II, 

Motiva G.C.

200/220?

DLA will not be providing. 

The awardee will be required to 

buy a subscription to the ICIS 

Pricing Index.

44 Section #H-900 Pricing & Payment, Supply 

Chain Support, Throughput Fee

Will the throughput percentage be applied to the adjusted NSN unit price at the 

time of each shipment throughout the contract term, or applied to the baseline 

unit prices established at the time of award?

Throughput will be applied to 

the adjusted NSN unit price at 

the time of each shipment.
No. Reference Question Answer

45 MILSPEC Packaging In reference to the above solicitation, is it possible to vary from MIL specs, 

and if so, how do we submit our preferred packaging?

The awardee is held to 

whatever MILSPEC is in the 

item description. If the 

contractor has a 

recommendation, they may 

submit the recommendation to 

the preparing activity or submit 

to DLA for submission to the 

preparing activity.

46 Transition If an offeror can transition in 6 months, will the transition period be 6 months 

vice 12 months?

No. The current contract 

obligation runs until July 2017 

and we do not intend to pay 

duplicate fees. We feel that a 

full 12 month transition will be 

necessary regardless of 

awardee.

47 Fill Rate Disincentive Fill Rate Exception if order volume is really high - Industry concern that 25% 

disincentive may be viewed as punitive, especially when issue is outside 

contractors control

See Govt’s response to “Spike 

Exceptions” in Question # 12

48 EPA adjustments What is DLA's rationale for moving from a quarterly to semi-annual EPA 

adjustments?

DLA shifted to semi-annual to 

lessen the administrative burden

on the Govt; Market Research 

also indicated Industry is okay 

with semi-annual adjustments.

49 Spills Define which spills are reportable Any spill that occurs at the 

contractor's site should be 

reported. The Govt wants to 

ensure the contractor is a good 

steward of the environment.

50 Scenarios What is the timing of the scenarios and proposal due date as proposals are 

currently due on a Friday?

The Govt will provide offerors 

3-Business days to respond to 

the scenarios. Scenario 

responses would not be due

until Weds if the proposal due 

date remains on a Friday.

51 SDS/HWL If a contractor is not the incumbent (SAIC), acquiring all required SDS will be 

difficult to pull-off?

Noted....The Government is 

most concerned that a 

contractor knows the process to 

acquire the correct SDS. 

See sample set in Amendment 

02.
No. Reference Question Answer

52 “Never-Out” Items How should offerors handle risk for "Never-Out" items that have shelf-life 

issues?

With the exception of NRP 

items (95% FR requirement), 

the 90% Fill Rate requirement 

is lower than the current 

contract so the contractor has 

some wiggle-room if an item is 

not on the shelf when needed. 

Never-out lists are managed 

internal to DLA and are not part 

of the SOW. The Govt will 

elevate shelf-life issues on a 

case-by-case basis with the 

ESA.

53 Backorder Disincentive Industry is puzzled by the BO Disincentive regarding the 90% FR 

goal....Industry believes it will need to "price-in" the BO Disincentive and the 

disincentive is too harsh.

DLA needs to keep the 

contactor focused on aged BOs 

when an item has already 

missed the FR metric. The 90% 

Fill Rate Metric is DLA's 

customer’s requirement. DLA 

wants to ensure "No aged BO is 

left behind".

54 Pricing

Transition Fee

Does the incumbent have a pricing advantage over others on Transition Fee 

pricing?

Even if the incumbent wins 

again, it will incur substantial 

transition costs as the new 

contract is very different than 

the current contract. Price is 

also low when compared with 

Tech and Management Eval 

Factors so it is very unlikely 

proposed Transition Fees will 

be a determining factor in the 

final contract award (it should 

not tip the scale).

55 Additional Questions Can Industry submit additional RFP questions? What is the question cut-off 

date?

Offerors are permitted to 

submit additional questions up 

to the close of business on 

Thursday 10 September. Any 

questions received after 10

September will not be 

addressed.